Mission event in Columbia offers free medical care

Hundreds of health care workers have volunteered their time. The South Carolina State Fairgrounds has provided the venue. Local health care organizations have brought in supplies. All that’s needed is patients Friday and Saturday for the annual free health care event called SC Mission 2014 Midlands.

SC Mission 2013
Courtesy of Thornton Kirby from the South Carolina Hospital Association

Hundreds of health care workers have volunteered their time. The South Carolina State Fairgrounds has provided the venue. Local health care organizations have brought in supplies. All that’s needed is patients Friday and Saturday for the annual free health care event called SC Mission 2014 Midlands.

Anyone age 17 or older is welcome to come in and get medical and eye care. Dental care isn’t offered. Lines are expected when the Fairgrounds gates open at 6 a.m. each day.

Eye care and mammography are the most limited categories, and late arrivals might miss out on those. But for general medical care, there were openings and few patients last year by late Friday afternoon and as the event neared its noon Saturday finish.

If you arrive early, it’s a good idea to bring a bottle of water for what could be a long wait, at least a portion of which could be in outdoor tents.